What PRS Legislative Research does

PRS Legislative Research is an independent, not-for-profit research organization founded in 2005 and headquartered in New Delhi. Its stated mission is to strengthen India's democracy by making the legislative process better informed, more transparent, and participatory. The organization addresses a structural gap in Indian governance — unlike mature democracies, Indian legislators (MPs and MLAs) are not provided with dedicated research staff — and serves as the primary source of independent legislative research support for both Parliament and state assemblies. Its primary customer segments are elected representatives, with secondary reach into citizens, media, and civil society organizations.

PRS operates a portfolio of tracking and analytical products including MPTrack (MP performance monitoring), SessionTrack (parliamentary session productivity), BillTrack (legislation tracking across Parliament and states), Vital Stats (productivity metrics), Budget Analysis, Committee Reports, Monthly and Annual Policy Reviews, and State Legislative Briefs. The organization has built India's first comprehensive database of state legislation. The LAMP (Legislative Assistants to Members of Parliament) Fellowship is a flagship program placing young professionals as research assistants to MPs, simultaneously delivering research services and building a pipeline of policy professionals. Content is distributed through prsindia.org (English and Hindi), media partnerships with major Indian newspapers, social media, video content, and direct engagement with parliamentary committees.

The business model is grant-funded not-for-profit operations. All research, data, and analysis are provided free of charge to legislators, citizens, media, and civil society. Revenue is sourced from grants and donations from foundations, individuals, and potentially government support. PRS is governed by an independent board chaired by S. Ramadorai (former Vice Chairman of TCS), with M R Madhavan serving as President and co-founder. The organization is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and operates with a lean team of 51-100 staff.

Name

PRS Legislative Research

Legal name

PRS Legislative Research

Website

https://prsindia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

PRS Legislative Research is an independent, not-for-profit research organization founded in 2005 that provides free legislative tracking, bill analysis, and policy research to India's Parliament and state assemblies, serving MPs, MLAs, citizens, media, and civil society.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legislative Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Legislative Bodies (921120)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF)

Keywords

• Legislative research services
• Policy analysis
• Parliamentary tracking
• Bill tracking
• Legislative intelligence

Headquarters

HQ city

Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grants and Donations: PRS operates as an independent, not-for-profit research group. The organization is funded through grants and donations from foundations, individuals, and possibly government support. The website states 'PRS is an independent, not-for-profit group.'

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

PRS Legislative Research is an independent, not-for-profit research organization that provides non-partisan research, analysis, and tracking of India's Parliament and state legislatures. Its offerings include bill tracking tools, MP/MLA performance monitoring, session productivity data, policy briefs, budget analysis, and committee report summaries, all made freely available to legislators, citizens, media, and civil society.

Product overview

PRS Legislative Research is a not-for-profit research organization that provides a comprehensive platform of legislative tracking and policy research tools. The core offering consists of MPTrack (MP work tracking), SessionTrack (Parliament session monitoring), BillTrack (legislation tracking), and State Legislative Briefs (state assembly coverage). These are supported by analytical products including Vital Stats (productivity metrics), Budget Analysis, Policy Discussion Papers, Monthly Policy Reviews, and Annual Policy Reviews. The LAMP Fellowship provides mentorship to young citizens interested in policy, while the Research Internship Program offers opportunities in research, data, and design. Parliamentary Committee coverage and Science & Technology Policy Briefs round out the product suite. The organization focuses on making legislative processes more transparent and accessible to citizens.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LAMP Fellowship: Legislative Assistants to Members of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship - a unique fellowship program for young Indians to learn law-making and public policy, mentored by an MP for a year.

Products and services

• MPTrack
• SessionTrack
• BillTrack
• State Legislative Briefs
• Vital Stats
• Budget Analysis
• Policy Discussion Papers
• Monthly Policy Review
• Annual Policy Review
• LAMP Fellowship
• Parliamentary Committees Coverage
• Committee Reports Summaries
• Science & Technology Policy Brief

Quantifiable outcome

• PRS tracked Parliament 2025 performance showing Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha spent less than 30% of working time on legislative business
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Media OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRS partners with media organizations (Indian Express, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Business Standard, etc.) to publish articles and analysis, helping them be more effective in engaging with legislative and policy issues. This partnership extends PRS research reach to wider audiences.
• Civil Society OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRS supports and partners with civil society organizations to help them engage more effectively with legislatures. PRS provides training on tracking parliamentary functioning to CSO groups.
• Members of Parliament (for LAMP Fellowship)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnder the LAMP Fellowship, MPs mentor young fellows who provide research support. Each MP provides mentorship and exposure to parliamentary work while PRS manages the fellowship programme and provides training.
• Parliamentary CommitteescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRS staff brief parliamentary committees on various subjects and provide research summaries. The Commerce Committee page shows extensive engagement with committee reports and recommendations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Brookings Institution: One of the world's oldest and most influential think tanks. Comparable as a non-partisan policy research institution with strong brand, distinguished scholars, and government engagement — but globally diversified and much larger than PRS.
• Observer Research Foundation (ORF): One of India's largest and most established think tanks covering policy, security, and governance. Comparable as a New Delhi-based, non-partisan policy research organization but broader in scope (foreign policy, economics, security) than PRS's legislative focus.
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Global think tank with research programs on governance, democracy, and policy reform. Comparable as a non-partisan, grant-funded research organization, but with international breadth far exceeding PRS's India-only focus.

Direct peers

• Centre for Policy Research (CPR): One of India's leading independent policy think tanks based in New Delhi. CPR is highly comparable to PRS as a domestic, non-partisan research organization working on governance, policy, and legislative issues, with overlapping donor base and audience.
• Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy: India-based independent legal policy organization that provides research support to governments on legislative drafting and regulatory reform. Directly comparable in mission — strengthening legislative and regulatory processes — and in operating model (non-profit, research-driven, New Delhi-based).
• Praja Foundation: Mumbai-based not-for-profit working on urban governance, elected representative accountability, and civic engagement. Highly comparable to PRS in tracking legislative functioning and empowering citizens — even cited in PRS team member bios as a prior employer (Manas Gubbi).

Others

• PRS Group (Political Risk Services): US-based firm providing political risk indices and country analysis. Shares the PRS acronym and a research-driven mission around political and policy analysis, but is a commercial entity serving institutional investors — thematic adjacency rather than direct competition.

Emerging players

• International Budget Partnership (IBP): Global non-profit that works on public budget transparency and legislative engagement. Comparable to PRS in supporting legislators and civil society to engage with public finance and parliamentary processes, including India-specific work.

Regional players

• Civicus: Global alliance focused on civil society and civic space. Adjacent to PRS in mission — strengthening democratic participation and legislative engagement — but operates as an international network rather than a country-specific research provider.
• National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP): India-based autonomous research institute focused on public finance and policy. Comparable as a non-profit policy research institution serving Indian government stakeholders, but more specialized in fiscal economics than PRS's legislative-process focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PRSLegislative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/7991620

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about PRS Legislative Research